Senator Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, launched a sharp attack on Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday, criticizing his leadership and recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic. During a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, Moreno questioned Fauci’s actions, stating, “Who the fuck do you think you were for doing that?” He further described Fauci’s actions as a “total disgrace what you did to this country” and suggested the former chief medical adviser was “more interested in being a celebrity than saving the American people.” Moreno concluded by stating, “I hope that, one way or another, somewhere, sometime, you answer for your crimes.”
Fauci, who served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 and as chief medical adviser to the president from 2021 until his retirement in 2022, did not directly respond to Moreno’s remarks. Throughout the hearing, Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, asserting that he believed questions were posed with the intent to incriminate him. He specifically referenced Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., the committee chair, who has stated his intention to see Fauci prosecuted.
Fauci described Paul’s approach as an “unhinged obsession.” Following Fauci’s refusal to answer questions, Paul indicated to reporters that he would seek a vote in committee to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress. Paul and other senators suggested that a pardon received by Fauci from President Biden might nullify his right to plead the Fifth Amendment, a point Paul acknowledged as a “legal question.”
